West is West

In some cases, it is only correct that the launch of a movie in India is delayed. That West is West was released within 4 months of the release in UK will remain one of the unsolved mysteries in the world. For my money’s worth, West is West could have well avoided its release in India. By no means is it as bad as some of the recent Anees Bazmee flicks that have torchered us. But by no means is that a benchmark to take when u release a movie in India right?
So insipid and boring is the script of WiW that even the exceptional capabilities of the likes of Om Puri and Vijay Raaz fall short in their attempt to lift the script and narration to the next level. There is just no content there for either of these fantastic actors to even try and deliver. I did read a candid confession from Om Puri sometime back that he does take up movies for just the money and now I am quite certain that he was referring to WiW. And I don’t think I should forget to mention that the better actors had to sustain quite a horrendous set of performances from the other half. WiW has just no consistency of performances. And that would speak volumes about the director’s inability to generate anything of substance from the cast. Andy DeEmmony continues to add to the list of TV directors who have cut a sorry figure in front of the world and continue to add fuel to the speculation that TV directors cannot make good directors on the silver screen. What gets to you even more is that all of this points towards a movie that has been made without any heart whatsoever. Everyone just seems to be going about their motions in stereo typical fashion – we have been paid for it, so may as well get it over and done with. Disappointing to say the least.

The insipid story is about Sajid (Aqib Khan), the youngest son of George / Jahangir Khan’s (Om Puri) second marriage to Ella (Linda Bassett). His is probably the worst life one could have bargained for. On one hand, he is the manifestation of, “Daddy mujhko bola – tu galti hai meri” (Dad tells me I am the mistake he made – literal translation of latest hit from new Bollywood movie Delhi Belly) and on the other hand the bullies at school make him suffer for being the Paki that he is. To make matters worse, he has a principal, Mr. Jordan (Robert Pugh) who keeps boring him with the starting lines of Kim by Rudyard Kipling – so much that he starts liking the idea as well. And then there is Maneer Khan (Emil Marwa) who is the elder brother, now in Pakistan and dutifully taking care of the farm there. George decides that he has had enough and takes the route known to most traditional Indian parents. He decides to take Sajid to Pakistan to get him familiar with his roots and try and get some Paki sense into his Brit brain. YAWN. 4 on 10 thanks to Om Puri and Vijay Raaz and maybe a little thank you to the “Hit by a truck” look that Ila Arun puts up through the entire movie.  I would have given -10 for the weak attempt at mixing British humour with Paki / Indian humour but i am in a kind mood this morning.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3248528153/

The Ghost Writer

No amount of controversies can take away someone’s talent. And no one can personify it in recent times more than the much hated Roman Polanski. Eccentric, different, slow, unconventional are some of the words one would associate with the extremely talented director. Over the years, Polanski has given us many a movie that may not have been liked by people but 2 words that could not be associated with his style of movie making would be bad and boring. One cannot fault him too much with areas such as attention to detail – or maybe I am not that experienced with Polanski movies. I have seen Chinatown and The Ninth Gate to date both of which were very well made. It is therefore a surprise that there are some very obvious pieces of his work with The Ghost Writer that come across as jarring errors in otherwise very clean movie.

Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) is the ex Prime Minister of Britain and is a much maligned person. More so in recent times when his older adversaries are pinning the blame of war crimes in Iraq onto him and calling for his head. His old friend Richard Rycart (Robert Pugh) has now turned enemy thanks to Lang moving him out of office during his days in 10 Downing Street. Rycart is leading the band of protestors that are asking Lang to be tried by the International Court of Justice. But not that easy since Lang now stays in the US where he cannot be arrested for the allegation. Lang is clearly uncomfortable with the arrangement and wants to get back home but stays back reluctantly. His wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) is quite convinced that the US will support him in his fight against these allegations.

Lang is writing his memoirs and needs the services of a Ghost writer. Especially because his current one dies in quite mysterious circumstances and is found washes ashore one day (Lang lives on an island close to Boston – like his wife says its like being married to Napoleon on St. Helena). The new Ghost Writer (Ewan McGregor) takes up the job – who wouldn’t if you were paid quarter of a million pounds to do that? He quickly finds out that there is a lot of mystery around this entire ghost writing thing and wonders what the secrecy around the entire book is. Especially since he is mugged – rather unconvincingly – right after he decides to accept the contract for ghost writing. As he goes through the manuscript, which he finds atrocious to say the least, he finds out that there is more to the death of his predecessor or should we say murder.

Polanski builds up the tempo and the mystery in the entire movie slowly but surely like some eerie ghost story with fabulous use of the dark – which is typical Polanski. Add to that the haunting music that keeps you squirming in your seat. But as mentioned earlier, there were times when you could not help but cringe that there were enough and more errors. Like most of the photographs seem to be too obviously photoshopped. But these are definitely over riden but the great dialogues and quite good acting on display. Ewan McGregor with his usual confused expression carries out the role of the Ghost Writer with great ease. Pierce Brosnan is at his confident arrogant self that we have come to associate with. The support cast is also quite solid. This one is a movie worth watching whether you are a Polanski fan or not. 7 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3376022553/